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Monday, August 2, 2010

I took my oldest three kids to church on Sunday so they could join several other youth and adult chaperones on a mission trip to Michigan to work for the Grand Rapids Area Service Project. The junior high kids (Jackson) are coming back Tuesday. Austin and Savannah will be staying with the rest of the senior high kids until Saturday. The kids weren't allowed to take their cell phones on this trip. I understand why. I mean, my kids would do nothing but text friends all day if they had their phones. And they're there to work and bond with the other kids and spread God's love through service to others. It would be impossible to concentrate with their phones constantly buzzing. But as a parent, it's a little hard not being able to check in on them despite the fact I know they're in good hands. Actually, one of the chaperones left me a comment on Facebook saying all the kids were doing well and Jackson wants to get up at 6:00 tomorrow to help him make pancakes. I guess I can see that. If he'd said that Austin or Savannah wanted to get up at 6:00 and cook, I would've known that something was very, very wrong.

Anyway, I've had several people tell me, "Oh, how nice, you'll be getting a break with only half your kids at home." Are you people nuts??? There is no break! I've lost my three helpers! I don't have any extra eyes watching the little ones. I don't have anyone to mow the lawn or take out the garbage or help pick up after the mess-makers. I've been busier the past two days than I ever am with all six of them home!

I wanted to make these days fun for my little ones though, so yesterday, I told my them, "Let's have a camp-out!" They just stared at me, eyes wide and mouths agape.

"But you hate camping, Mom."

"That's true. But we're going to go camping mommy style!"

Their interest was piqued.

"First, we have to really clean up the family room," I informed them. Now, I have to preface this by telling you that I DO, in fact, clean my family room often. Honestly, I clean it daily. I vacuum it at least two or three times a week. I move the couches out and vacuum underneath regularly. However, despite that, this is what I found when I moved the couches out yesterday...

Shoes, dishes, a toy watch, a plane, a tag

a purse, a book

a puzzle, a toy plate, a movie,

more shoes (no wonder Clay can never find his shoes!), a sippy cup, a battery, some candy wrappers, Connect Four pieces, and K-Nex pieces

a plastic hotdog bun, more Connect Four pieces, Polly Pocket hair, a ball, a magnet, more K-Nex pieces, and a Hungry Hungry Hippos ball

lipstick, the handle to a broken hairbrush, an ice pop wrapper, a bracelet and more K-Nex

another toy watch, a battery, and a BandAid wrapper

a domino, a marshmallow, some feathers, a bent paper clip, and a straw

When we could see the floor once again, I showed them how mommy camps. That's right - no bugs, no heat, no cricket noises all night, and no disgusting bathrooms you have to walk to in the middle of the night. And the best part is - mom gets to sleep in her own comfy, cozy bed! Oh yeah!

This would be my kind of camping too ! And what you found under the couch is nothing compared to what my 3 grandkids leave me.Loved the pictures and the picture of the 3 in the tent.I bet you are so busy you don't realize how fast they are growing up. Dawn, you rock....

I've been racking (wracking?) my brain trying to figure out what these pictures reminded me of, and finally I got it! It's like a page out of one of those "I Spy" books! You could make up your own game!

I live in Grand Rapids, so if you'd like me to stop by and check up on your kids, I'd be happy to. :) It's kind of funny how people from GR go to Chicago for mission trips and people from Chicago come here.

My boys frequently like to camp on the thard diningroom floor or on the outside porch. With or without sleeping matts or air matresses, whether there are bugs or not, my kids would rather sleep in the floor or ground somewhere. Remind me again, why do they each need to have a bed?

I love it that you knew what everything was. I find stuff like that all the time in my family room and I usually know exactly what it all is and what it belongs with. I then put it all back where it belongs (or try to). My husband on the other hand picks it all up and dumps it all in a bucket and never even tries to put stuff back where it belongs. So when my kids say they have not toys to play with I cant argue with them because all of their toys are missing parts. Men stink.

That IS the way to camp! I am, against my better judgment, taking all three of my kids camping this weekend with my sister and her three kids. Avid Girl Scout kind of campers, they are. My brood and me, not so much. We'll see how it all shakes out after the weekend's up.

That's my kind of camping too - especially with a summer as hot as this one has been. I swear it's a kid thing with stuff under couches. I vacuumed and moved both couches Monday, and here it is Wednesday, and I can already see there's a treasure trove of toys under them again. I think that's how my boys "clean up" when I'm not looking.